Chapter 172: Self-Operated Cafeteria: Orange C2 and Orange D1 Designs Completed

At noon, Wang Zihao sent a message inviting Chen Yansen to lunch at the company cafeteria.

Half a month ago, under Chen Yansen's instructions, Xu Xingxing rented half of the cafeteria from the park manager.

Orange Tech is a major taxpayer in Xucheng and willing to spend money, so its applications for fire safety, environmental, health, and food permits naturally cleared all checks.

Three days ago, Pinbei and Orange Tech employees began eating meals from their own cafeteria.

The chefs were poached from hotels: three for breakfast, six for lunch and dinner, plus eight kitchen assistants, seven serving staff, three cleaners, two procurement officers, and one cafeteria manager.

Thirty people total, all signed labor contracts with Orange Tech.

They receive a 20% housing allowance, overtime pay as mandated by labor law, five insurances and one fund plus commercial medical insurance, plus holiday bonuses, travel funds, meal subsidies, and other benefits.

Salaries 20% above market rate and a comprehensive benefits system made the three cleaners eager to mop the cafeteria floor ten times a day just to feel they earned their pay.

Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao entered the cafeteria; the left side was empty, the right side had a long queue.

It was obvious the left side was the park's self-run cafeteria—hardly anyone wanted to eat there.

"Boss!"

"Hao Ge!"

The queued employees greeted them enthusiastically.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, picked up a tray, and joined the end of the line.

"Boss, why don't you go ahead?" a young man ahead smiled and suggested.

"No need. I remember you're from Jin Ling—do you like the cafeteria food?"

Chen Yansen waved his hand and asked with a smile.

"Boss, you remember me?" Chi Kai's eyes widened in disbelief.

Though he handled food category operations at Pinbei, he'd only met Chen Yansen once on his first day—never even spoken to him.

There were over twenty other category operators like him at Pinbei.

So when Chi Kai realized Chen Yansen remembered his name—and even his hometown—he was stunned.

"As a boss, remembering employees' names is only natural. Keep it up. I heard you made the food category the top-performing one at Store #1—I hope you do the same at Pinbei."

Chen Yansen patted Chi Kai's shoulder and encouraged him with a smile.

"Yes, Boss, I'll work hard," Chi Kai grinned.

Chen Yansen smiled and said nothing more.

He remembered Chi Kai well—not because of outstanding performance, but because Xiong Li's background check revealed Chi Kai's departure from Store #1 was anything but honorable.

Simply put, he took bribes from merchants and got caught.

But he had wide connections and a good relationship with his boss, so he was protected and given a face-saving exit: voluntary resignation.

Of course, that was just the background check result. When Xiong Li raised it during the second interview, Chi Kai claimed he took the blame for his boss and never accepted kickbacks.

Most would have rejected such a controversial candidate.

But Xiong Li believed Chi Kai's operational skills were exceptional and reported him to Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen glanced at the resume and decided to hire Chi Kai.

People with greed for money work harder and smarter than ordinary people.

Besides, Pinbei's compensation for Chi Kai was nearly double what he earned at Store #1.

If Chi Kai dared take bribes privately, Chen Yansen had ways to deal with him.

Let him be the target—use him to warn other categories and recruitment teams. Waste not, want not.

As Chen Yansen predicted, within days of joining, Chi Kai brought in over thirty A-tier brands and over a hundred B-tier brands—his resource network and negotiation skills were unmatched.

"Are you going back to Chunshen for New Year's?" Wang Zihao suddenly asked.

"No. If you go, say hello to Uncle Wang for me. Oh, the Wine God website gave me two bottles of aged Maotai—take them to Uncle Wang when you go."

Chen Yansen said casually.

"That's not appropriate. Better keep them for Uncle Chen." Wang Zihao shook his head, declining.

"No problem. I already sent the wine for Old Chen last time."

Chen Yansen smiled.

"Senior, you're here for lunch too?"

At that moment, a bright, playful voice came from behind.

Chen Yansen turned and saw Ge Hui—the girl who'd approached him at the startup park entrance, holding an Orange phone for his autograph.

Beside Ge Hui was Jiang Ruoxuan, who politely greeted: "Boss."

"Is she the new hire in your department?"

Chen Yansen ignored Ge Hui and asked Jiang Ruoxuan.

"Ge Hui is a part-time staff in customer service, but she's also a freshman in Visual Communication Design—she's sort of a junior to me and Yuncheng."

Jiang Ruoxuan explained.

"Oh." Chen Yansen's tone was flat.

Perhaps due to his high mental stat, he easily noticed Ge Hui's subtle movements.

Ge Hui wanted to get close to him; though she masked it well, he saw through her at a glance.

After Ge Hui and Jiang Ruoxuan walked away, Wang Zihao asked curiously: "This junior's so tiny, like a doll."

"Small body, big schemes. Don't look too hard—this girl's waters run deep. You can't handle her."

Chen Yansen whispered a warning.

"Sen Ge, you don't know me—I've always liked the big ones," Wang Zihao chuckled.

"Good." Chen Yansen replied.

Under Chen Yansen's training, Wang Zihao's work ability had skyrocketed, but in matters of women, he was still a blank slate.

"I'm tired of my 750. It's just gathering dust in the garage—interested?"

Chen Yansen asked after thinking.

"Sen Ge, that car's over two million! I'd be heartbroken if it got scratched." Wang Zihao's eyes lit up—he was clearly tempted, yet embarrassed.

Over the past year, he'd earned a fortune with Chen Yansen: stock options, salary, bonuses—minimum two million.

"Stop whining. I'll have Xu Xingxing give you the keys this afternoon."

Chen Yansen did it deliberately.

No one knew better than him: driving a two-million-yuan car around campus and downtown drew out the most forward girls.

"Thank you, Adoptive Father," Wang Zihao said, understanding perfectly.

The cafeteria had seven serving windows; the two had barely chatted before reaching the front.

Chen Yansen scanned left to right: chicken, duck, fish, pork, fruits, vegetables, drinks, desserts, noodles, wontons—all available. No wonder they hired thirty people.

Fewer staff would've been overwhelmed.

Dishes were served in small plates, like community cafeterias in Hu Cheng—steaming hot and fragrant.

I'll have kou shui ji, chopped pepper fish head, steamed eggs, greens, one bowl of rice, and a soup.

Chen Yansen told the serving staff.

Wang Zihao ordered three dishes and a soup, carried his tray to the card reader, and it beeped—only 7. yuan.

Chen Yansen's meal cost 9. yuan—essentially cost price.

The company's 500-yuan monthly meal subsidy was more than enough.

The cafeteria was company-run, not for profit—only to ensure employees ate well.

Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao had just sat down and taken two bites when Meng Jie came over.

Several mid-level staff from Pinbei and Orange Tech watched with envy—they wanted to join, but dared not approach without the boss's invitation.

As they ate and chatted, Meng Jie suddenly said: "Teacher Zhang is getting married on New Year's and invited me to be a bridesmaid—are you two going back?"

"Teacher Zhang's getting married? Who's the groom?"

Wang Zihao asked curiously, glancing at Chen Yansen—he remembered Chen Yansen once said he wanted Zhang Li to be his stepmother.

"Our old history teacher—the tall, slender one."

Meng Jie gestured with her hands and smiled.

"Ah! Old Chen is just too useless! Teacher Zhang's got curves and he doesn't want her—now he's lost his chance for good."

Chen Yansen sighed, looking exasperated.

"Sen Ge, Meng Jun's mom's still single," Wang Zihao winked, teasing.

"What?! Chen Yansen, are you serious? You want to set Teacher Zhang up with Uncle Chen?"

Meng Jie laughed helplessly, grabbing Chen Yansen's arm and giggling.

This scene happened to be seen by Song Yuncheng as she entered the cafeteria; she forced a smile, but her heart ached.

In status, Meng Jie was Chen Yansen's official girlfriend.

She, on the other hand, was invisible.

Chen Yansen's senses were extremely sharp—he looked up, his gaze cutting through the crowd, instantly locking with Song Yuncheng's.

He raised his thumb and touched his lips.

Song Yuncheng blushed, couldn't help smiling, and silently cursed: bastard.

"So, are you two going back? Teacher Zhang specifically asked me to ask." Meng Jie insisted, seeing they were still laughing and avoiding a direct answer.

"Big Sis, I'm definitely going back," Wang Zihao replied with a grin.

"Orange Tech's new product development is at a critical stage—I can't leave right now."

Chen Yansen gave a casual excuse.

Adults avoid social engagements for only one reason: they see no value in them.

Meng Jie felt slightly disappointed but said nothing.

After lunch, Chen Yansen returned to his office, called Xu Xingxing over, handed her the keys to the BMW 750, and told her to pass them on to Wang Zihao.

In the afternoon, with nothing else to do, Chen Yansen visited the R&D department of Orange Tech.

The hardware designs for Orange C2 and Orange D1 were complete.

Shencheng's mobile phone factory planned to produce 500 engineering units each, partly for testing and partly for market release to gather user feedback.

The Orange C2, a flagship model, featured a Qualcomm MSM8260 dual-core processor, a 4. -inch AMOLED display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, support for 1080p full HD video playback and recording, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front camera.

The system ran on AuroraOS 1. , optimized for Android 4. , with a 2620mAh battery supporting fast charging.

The Orange D1 was positioned as a budget phone, equipped with a MediaTek MT6573 processor, a 4. -inch TFT display, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 300, 00-pixel front camera, and a 1800mAh battery.

As for pricing, Chen Yansen had not yet made a final decision.

With the gradual release of the iPhone 4S, Meizu MX, and Huawei U8860, sales of the Orange C1 were bound to decline.

In the fiercely competitive year of 2011, a smartphone's lifecycle typically lasted only 8 to 12 months.

The Orange C1 had already been on sale for four months, leaving at most four to five months of its golden sales period.

Chen Yansen spent just over an hour in the tech park that afternoon, then drove back to Xu Yuan.

(End of Chapter)